According to market research firm Euromonitor International estimates, global sales of action figure toys like Transformers and Spiderman are expected to decline by about 2 percent this year.
Mattel said last month it entered the holiday season with retailer inventories of its products down by double digits from a year earlier and weeks of supply down by high-single digits.
U.S. toy imports dropped about 32% year-over-year in the three months through Aug. 31 in dollar terms, according to data from trade data firm Panjiva, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. This is typically the key ordering period for holiday toy stock.
Ocean freight volume, measured in containers, declined roughly 8% in September. "The toy market has been shrinking almost all year round," said Florian Sieber, CEO of German toy maker Simba. He said demand from European consumers was lower than last year, which was already down from the prior year.
Year-to-date toy sales volumes across countries covered by data company Circana, formerly NPD, were down about 7% through September, but consumers will start buying toys in the three weeks leading up to Christmas, said Frédérique Tutt, Circana's global toy industry adviser. She said the categories that have performed best so far are games and puzzles, plush toys, building sets, and vehicles.
There's always money set aside by parents to buy toys for their kids, said Jerry Storch, CEO of consultancy Storch Advisors and former CEO of Toys-R-Us and Hudson's Bay Co. "The reality is (this year) the toy business is a little softer than last year's blockbuster."
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